Yes, it’s true! Thomas & Mercer is giving away 100 e-copies of The Roses of May on Goodreads. Giveaway is open through April 30th, open to the US (sorry, international readers, it’s a territory rights thing!).

Plus, if you have a NetGalley account, keep an eye out for The Roses of May in the next couple of weeks. Once it’s up, you can request a review e-copy. Keep in mind, requesting doesn’t guarantee approval; there’s a whole mess of factors they look at before approving, but it’s still a chance.

Guys, we are getting so close, and I am ridiculously excited for you to meet Priya.

I’ve been hard at work on the last rounds of edits for ROSES and researching/planning/starting to draft the final book of the Collectors Trilogy, but I wanted to give you all a treat. THE ROSES OF MAY has a cover!

And, if I may say so myself, it is an AMAZING cover. I love it like cake. More than cake–I love it like Cadbury Crème Eggs (seriously).

What do you think?

Isn’t it fantastic? It’s going to look so great next to THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN on the shelf.

So I’ve been getting a lot of questions the past few months about the books mentioned in The Butterfly Garden, and whether or not there’s a list of them anywhere.

Good news, now there is! There aren’t as many as there used to be, because some of the sections with named books didn’t make it through edits, but here are the books and stories that are named in the course of the story.

Edgar Allan Poe, collected poetry and prose (as in I quoted or referenced a substantial number of Poe titles that I didn’t necessarily list out)

Charles Dickens- Oliver Twist

Sophocles- Antigone

Aristophanes- Lysistrata

Hans Christian Andersen- The Little Match Girl, The Steadfast Tin Soldier (both have been adapted and were also mentioned as ballets)

ETA Hoffman- The Nutcracker (also adapted by Tchaikovsky as a ballet)

Alexandre Dumas, pere- The Nutcracker (Seriously–he adapted Hoffman’s work in 1845), The Count of Monte Cristo

I’ve been buried neck deep in edits these last weeks, but I’m emerging briefly to tell you about an amazing Local Author Event happening at Barnes & Noble Crossroads on Sunday, 27 November 2016.

I’ll be there at three o’clock with eight other Omaha area authors to sign and chat, and it would be amazing to see some of you out there. Can’t make it to the signing? You can call the store and ask about purchasing personalized copies over the phone (if you live in the US–sorry). The authors participating are:

Which means some exciting news to share with all of you. I’ve been getting a lot of questions (thank you for the questions and comments and messages!) about whether or not THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN will be available in [insert country here].

Starting in September, the book became available in German through AmazonCrossing as GARTEN DER SCHMETTERLINGE (and it’s so pretty! I don’t speak German, so I sit and stare and pet the pages from time to time)

But it’s sold in some other publishing territories as well!

In Thailand, it sold to WeLearn.
In Bulgaria, it sold to Millenium Publishing.
In Italy, it sold to Newton Compton.
and Large Print rights sold to Center Point Large Print.
In Poland, it sold to Wydawnictwo Filia.
In China, it sold to Global Group Holdings (Complex Chinese) and Shanghai Literature & Arts (Simplified Chinese).
In Brazil, it sold to Planeta Brazil.
In Italy, it sold to Newton Compton.
In Russia, it sold to Exmo.
In Turkey, it sold to Limos.
In Portugal, it sold to Penguin Random House Portugal.
In Hungary, it sold to Konyvmolykepzo.
In Indonesia, it sold to PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
And in the Czech Republic through Albatros.

WHICH IS AMAZING!!!!

Now, as to release dates? I have honestly no idea. This process requires all the work that went into the original book PLUS all the translation and double-checking. Covers may be different, titles will certainly be different (and, depending on the market, may not be anything like Butterfly Garden), which means your best chance of finding out when it’s going to come out in any given country is to check the publisher’s website or check with your local bookstores.

As I get more information, I will update here.

And THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. Your enthusiasm for this book, your conversations and reviews and sharing, makes this possible.

Today we got to announce some AMAZING NEWS about The Butterfly Garden: it’s been optioned for film by Anonymous Content and PalmStar Media!

You can read the official announcement on Deadline , but I’ll pre-empt a few of the most common responses (and answer some other questions I’ve gotten in quantity) below.

OH MY GOD IT’S GOING TO BE A MOVIE!!!

MAYBE.

The option actually translates pretty literally: they’ve purchased the option to pursue development. It might move forward, it might not (because as strange an industry as publishing is, Hollywood is so much stranger) but Anonymous Content and PalmStar Media have the chance to play with it and see where it goes. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a HUGE step in an exciting direction.

CAN I SEND IN MY HEADSHOT/AUDITION TAPE/FIRSTBORN CHILD?

No, no, and um…NO.

If this moves forward, I will have zero input on casting. Excitement is amazing and wonderful, and I hope you are excited, because this is awesome! But I will have absolutely no influence on roles or actors or anything of that nature.

WHEN WILL IT BE OUT?

See answer the first–at least point, we can’t even be sure it’s going to move forward, so let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

WILL THE BOOK BE AVAILABLE IN [INSERT COUNTRY]?

If it doesn’t come up on Amazon or your favorite retail page, the rights may not have sold for that territory. Best bet? If you’re comfortable reading in English, Book Depository ships worldwide! You can also e-mail publishers in your country and express interest. My Contacts page has been updated with addresses for foreign rights queries. Hopefully my creepy darlings will continue to make their way into the wider world.

CAN I GET A SIGNED COPY OF THE BOOK?

YES! (If you live in the US; sorry)

My local Barnes & Noble has it in stock, and can take orders over the phone for signed copies to ship out from the store. Because the books will be leaving from the store, rather than the warehouse, there is a shipping charge, but the books are signed and, given the pertinent information and a day or two’s grace for my getting in there, can be personalized. The phone number is: 1-402-393-6223, and store hours are Sunday: 10am-7pm CT, Monday through Saturday, 9am-9pm CT.

WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK?

I’m sorry, but no. I do have an author page (sidebar) and you are welcome to leave comments or questions or messages there–it makes my day when you do! But my personal facebook is just that, and it’s for the people I actually know. Being online, it can be difficult to separate out what’s professional from what’s personal, but for my own introverted sense of well-being, that is a line I have to maintain. You are more than welcome to follow me on Twitter or tumblr or my author facebook, and I’ve got my e-mail up on my Contacts as well, but my personal facebook stays separate.

WILL THERE BE A SEQUEL?

Ish?

There will be a companion novel out next year, entitled Roses of May, and while it’s not a direct sequel, we will be following our Butterflies and FBI team for a time. The bulk of the story shifts to a new case, a new story, but some things don’t leave us so easily. Is it surprising if Butterflies have a way of lingering?

One more thing.

THANK YOU!!!

For all your reviews, your conversations, emails, comments, tweets, your enthusiasm and the way you’re talking it up, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. You’re amazing. The response to this book has absolutely blown me away and I am so, so grateful.

So some of you may have seen on social media or in stores that every Barnes & Noble store is participating in the first ever B-Fest, a national teen book festival, and it’s happening THIS WEEKEND (June 10-12). There is a ton going on at every store and, in addition to the national events, there are author signings all over the place. It’s going to be a ton of fun!

Why am I posting about this? Well, partly because I think it’s going to be awesome, partly because I’ll be working some of the events as a bookseller, and partly because I’ll be holding a signing! So here’s a break-down of events.

FRIDAY JUNE 10: 7 pm B- IN THE KNOW

Think you know YA? Put yourself to the test with our Trivia Blast, created by Penguin Teen and Random House’s First in Line. One winner in each store will spend the next year receiving advance reader’s copies of the hottest new teen titles, plus there’s swag!

SATURDAY JUNE 11: 11 am B- FIRST

There are so many amazing titles coming out, and you can be among the first to see them! Get samplers and sneak peeks from some of your favorite authors, including a Maze Runner prequel from James Dashner, new stories from Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children (don’t forget the movie of the first book, out this year!), and others! Other exciting giveaways are in the works, and the publishers sent some pretty awesome stuff.

SATURDAY JUNE 11: 2pm B- PART OF THE FUN

Settle in for a great time, as we unload spelling showdown, story ball, games, and activities, with even more prizes. Guys, I’ve seen the author coloring book. It’s amazeballs.

SUNDAY JUNE 12: 2pm B- CREATIVE

Learn how to develop your story in a workshop created by Adaptive Studios and find out more about this awesome publisher and their dual-media projects.

And me!

I’ll be at the Crossroads Barnes & Noble in Omaha to lead the workshop on Sunday (among other things) and it’ll round out with a signing for A WOUNDED NAME. To address the question that may or may not come up: we’ve got THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN on order and hopefully it will be there as well, but the focus will be on A WOUNDED NAME because it’s actually the teen book. (Teen book, teen book fest…you know.) But if our timing from when the book hit the warehouse works out well, we’ll have both books there for those who are interested.

Authors are booked at locations all over the country–call your local Barnes & Noble or check them out on twitter, facebook, or instagram to find out who’s coming to the stores near you. You can also check out #BFESTBUZZ, @bnbuzz, or visit bn.com/b-fest.

While this is primarily intended for young adults, the adults young at heart are welcome to join in the fun. The weekend is a fantastic opportunity for fans to come together and celebrate all the awesomeness that is the teen book scene. Hope to see you there!

So, those of you familiar with Goodreads are probably aware that they have giveaways running at all times, and there is now one open for 20 print copies of THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN.

That’s right. 20 copies.

It is US only, but still. So far it’s pretty good odds. If you have a Goodreads account, or want to sign up for one (it’s free! and awesome!) you can enter to win here. The giveaway runs through the official release date of June 1st.

May the odds be ever in your favor!

(Different book; comparable body count)

ALSO.

The wunderbar team at Thomas & Mercer put together another video where you can watch me be all awesome self-conscious and proud of my book. This video gives you a look at all six of May’s Kindle First selections.

On a more serious note:

If you read THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN (or, really, ANY BOOK, mine or not) please take a few minutes to leave a review on some of the major sites. It could even be the exact same review copy/pasted across sites. It seems a silly thing, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t make your purchasing decisions off of what other people are saying, but it’s astonishing how much the reviews help. They don’t simply encourage (or dissuade) people who may be on the fence about reading a particular book.

The number of reviews on an item also influence the visibility of that item. The more reviews there are, the more that book, that author, gets seen.

Maybe it sounds silly, but it’s really huge, and can make a difference not just in that one book’s sales, but also in whether or not that author is able to sell more titles in the future.

The single best thing you can do if you want more books from an author is to talk about it. Leave a review. Leave reviews across multiple sites. Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers, the creepy guy at lunch who always asks you what you’re reading in a tone that says you’re supposed to be paying attention to him instead. (Hint: you’re not, but imagine the reaction if you start gushing about certain kinds of books. I’ve done this. It’s amazing.)

Also up there on the list of very helpful things are: A) buying the book, if you can, and B) borrow the book from a friend or the library if you can’t buy it, followed by C) for the love of God, do not pirate the book. I get that it’s free (but so’s the library!) and easy (so’s the library!) and don’t involve human interaction (you can download e-books from the library online!), but piracy is a career-killer. If a book is stolen more than it’s purchased, that author is going to have a very hard time getting another contract.

Plus it’s, you know, illegal.

So if you love a book, hate a book, possess ambivalent opinions of a book, think a book makes a really fantastic coaster, talk about it. Please leave reviews, not just for me, but for all the books you read, just a few lines can help so much.

Some of you can! If you have Amazon Prime or Kindle First in the US, UK, or Australia.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN was selected for the Kindle First program, so it is one of six titles offered a month ahead of publication date for anyone with subscriptions to Prime or First, AND it’s offered at a free or reduced rate. Depending on which program you’re in, you get it for free, or for just $1.99, which is a pretty awesome price for almost any ebook.

But for one you can’t otherwise read for another month?

It’s amazing!

So check it out! And if you do read it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon a/o Goodreads; you’d be surprised at how much they help authors, especially in the first weeks of a release.

Hope you enjoy, and if you don’t get to read it now? Don’t worry! June 1st is not that far away.